Biography
Bobby Stark stands among the overlooked trumpet masters of the 1920s, serving as a principal improviser in the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. His three recorded renditions of “King Porter Stomp,” beginning with the initial version cut in 1928, delivered lines that many listeners find more inventive and charged than the celebrated chorus Bunny Berigan later delivered on Benny Goodman’s 1935 hit. Stark first took up the alto horn at age fifteen, later exploring piano and reeds before committing to trumpet. Brief engagements in New York placed him alongside June Clark in 1925, then with Edgar Dowell, Leon Abbey, Duncan Mayers, Bobby Lee, Billy Butler, Charles Turner, the early McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, and Chick Webb from 1926 to 1927.
Between 1927 and 1933 Stark became an essential voice in Henderson’s ranks, contributing solos across numerous sides while absorbing Louis Armstrong’s approach yet frequently striking out on his own path. He matched the stature of section mates Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, and Henry “Red” Allen. His subsequent tenure with Chick Webb’s Orchestra from 1934 to 1939 left him eclipsed by Taft Jordan; the two shared stylistic traits of the period, yet Jordan, who also sang, captured nearly every notice. Following Webb’s death in 1939, Stark remained under Ella Fitzgerald’s direction for one more year before turning to freelance work. Military service occupied him from 1942 to 1943; afterward he appeared with Garvin Bushell in 1944 and in Benny Morton’s Sextet, only to pass away far too soon. How he might have navigated the bop revolution remains unknown. Having never fronted a recording session under his own name, Stark merits renewed attention for the lasting mark he left on the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.
Between 1927 and 1933 Stark became an essential voice in Henderson’s ranks, contributing solos across numerous sides while absorbing Louis Armstrong’s approach yet frequently striking out on his own path. He matched the stature of section mates Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, and Henry “Red” Allen. His subsequent tenure with Chick Webb’s Orchestra from 1934 to 1939 left him eclipsed by Taft Jordan; the two shared stylistic traits of the period, yet Jordan, who also sang, captured nearly every notice. Following Webb’s death in 1939, Stark remained under Ella Fitzgerald’s direction for one more year before turning to freelance work. Military service occupied him from 1942 to 1943; afterward he appeared with Garvin Bushell in 1944 and in Benny Morton’s Sextet, only to pass away far too soon. How he might have navigated the bop revolution remains unknown. Having never fronted a recording session under his own name, Stark merits renewed attention for the lasting mark he left on the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.